Questions
by Potterholic85
Summary: Questions help an outgoing Rose Weasley get to know a reluctant Scorpius Malfoy. NextGen fic.
1. Chapter 1: On the Way

Chapter 1: On the Way

To say that Rose Weasley was excited to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a colossal understatement. As long as she could remember, her parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents had been telling her about the magical school and their many adventures. Her mother told her about taking several classes her third year with the help of a Time-Turner, while her father entertained her with stories of his successful, if not brief, Quidditch career. Her Uncle Harry told her in private about sneaking into Hogsmeade through the tunnel accessed in a one-eyed crone's hump, and her Aunt Ginny made Rose laugh by telling her about her father's reaction to finding Ginny behind a tapestry kissing a boy. Rose wanted to hop on the Hogwarts Express as quickly as possible to begin her own story and adventure!

When she arrived at Platform 9 ¾ with her parents and younger brother, Hugo, already sporting her brand new school robes, she immediately spotted her cousin, Albus, who was also beginning his first year at the school. He looked like he was going to be sick to his stomach. She could tell James, his brother, was taking the mickey with him, telling Albus he was going to be sorted into Slytherin house, as he had done all summer. She could see him having a slight panic attack, but felt that he really had no reason to be in hysterics. Before she could tell him to calm down, however, a movement by her father caught her eye. She saw he was looking at a family across the platform—a man her parent's age with receding blond hair and a prominent chin standing next to a boy who looked almost identical in every way.

"So that's little Scorpius," Rose's father said under his breath to her Uncle Harry. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."

Rose heard her mother admonish her father, but the rest of his words were lost on her. She was too enthralled with staring at the young Scorpius. She was immediately intrigued by him. He stood very straight, his head held high and his expression emotionless. It was his eyes, however, that intrigued her the most. They say the eyes are the window to a person's soul, and this was no exception with Scorpius.

Scorpius, Rose could tell from nearly an entire platform away, was sad.

* * *

Scorpius stared at the scarlet train in front of him.

"And don't even think about getting into any sort of trouble. I don't need the headmaster breathing down my neck about your behavior when I have better things to do. You've been an embarrassment enough, just existing."

He had been listening to his father cruelly berate him for nearly 15 minutes. Scorpius wished that he could say that this was a rare occurrence.

"Yes, sir."

Scorpius could tell that his father's glare was upon him, and continued to stare at the train.

"Get on the train now. It's about to leave."

"Yes, sir," Scorpius replied. He grabbed his trunk and dragged it towards the locomotive, desperately eager to get away from his father.

"Oh, and Scorpius?" his father called out. Scorpius turned around once inside the train door, hoping his father would actually say something nice, such as _good luck this year _or _write me when you get there._ Instead, he heard, "Try to find a friend's house to stay at this Christmas." And without another glance, his father walked away, his mother silently trailing behind, through the barrier between the wizarding and Muggle worlds.

Scorpius sighed and mumbled, "Yes, sir," before dragging his trunk into an empty compartment and sitting down besides the window.

* * *

"No I won't! I can't be!"

"Face it, little brother, the Slytherin blood runs deep in your veins," James snorted, finding amusement in his terrified brother.

"No! Because if it did run in my veins it would run in yours, too, and you're not in Slytherin!" Albus ranted.

Rose and Albus had sat with James and two of his Gryffindor friends when boarding the train two hours ago. Since then, an almost non-stop argument about Albus' future house placement had occurred to the extreme amusement of James and his friends. Unfortunately for Rose, she found it to be quite tedious after the first thirty seconds.

"It skips a few generations. Then it picks only one heir and gives him the Slytherin traits. I'm afraid that's gone to you, pal."

"No it hasn't!"

"It's deeply magical stuff, Al," James explained with a serious look on his face. "You'll understand once you've been sorted there."

"No! Stop being an idiot!" Al yelled, putting his hands up to his head to cover his eyes and taking deep breaths.

Rose had finally had enough and got up. She left the compartment without a word.

Ah… even with the voice of hundreds of other students echoing in the train's corridor, it was still more peaceful than the compartment she had just left. She stretched her gangly limbs and ran her hands through her bright red hair before she began walking-or what was an attempt to walk. Just as she had turned to get as far away from her arguing cousins as possible, she bumped into someone leaving the compartment right next to hers.

"Excuse me."

Rose looked up and saw young Scorpius standing against his closed compartment door, allowing her to pass.

Rose smirked at his polite behavior. "You're excused."

Scorpius stared at her for a brief moment, before rolling his eyes and continuing along his way. Rose giggled silently. Growing up with ten cousins and a little brother helped her gain a quick wit about her, a wit she loved to use to annoy her family and, as it turned out, Scorpius.

Before walking away, Rose took a glance into his compartment, curious to see who he had befriended. She was stunned by what she saw.

"Why are you sitting by yourself?" she called to a retreating Scorpius.

She saw the back of Scorpius bristle. His shoulders hunched up and his hands balled into fists. "Do mind your own business, won't you, Weasley?" he seethed without looking at her. He stood in the same spot for several more seconds, took a few deep breaths, and unclenched his fists before quickly continuing his retreat.

Rose watched him walk away, feeling stung by his words and actions. She began to understand her father's weariness of the boy. Yet there was something about him that kept her curious… something she fully intended to reveal.


	2. Chapter 2: The Sorting

Chapter 2: The Sorting

As the day turned into evening, the Hogwarts Express trudged along the track until it reached the village of Hogsmeade. Rose hopped off the train eagerly, more than ready to begin her first year of schooling. She was followed by a trembling Albus, who was quietly whimpering with fear.

"Firs' years! Firs' years, follow me!" boomed the massive man Rose and Albus knew was Hagrid, a close friend of their parents. Hagrid winked at the pair and walked towards the lake where several boats were waiting.

Rose and Albus were the first to walk to the water's edge and step into one of the boats. After a few minutes, a boy strode onto the boat with a confident swagger and took a seat.

"Hello," the boy said with an Irish accent. He had sandy blond hair and brown eyes with a smile that reached all the way across his face. "My name is Bryan Finnigan."

"I'm Rose," she introduced. Her cousin whimpered besides her. She sighed. "And this is my wimp of a cousin, Albus." Albus murmured his greeting.

Bryan chuckled in good spirits. "I know who you guys are, of course."

Rose thought for a moment. "Finnigan?" Rose asked. "I think your father went to school with our parents."

"Yeah, he did," Bryan grinned. "My father told me loads of stories about the kind of trouble your parents would get into," he finished with a laugh. Rose couldn't help by laugh with him—it was infectious. With his pleasant looks and apparently good sense of humor, she silently hoped that she was sorted into whatever house he went to.

After a few minutes of sitting stationary, Bryan looked around impatiently at the other boats. "When you do think these boats will start moving along? I'm starving!"

"A' right, last of the firs' years on th' boats, quick now!" Hagrid bellowed. "We'll be leavin' soon!"

Rose watched in amusement as the remaining first years scrambled to find a boat with an open seat. She was about to offer the last spot on their boat to another student, when she looked over and saw the seat was all ready occupied—by Scorpius Malfoy.

Rose shook her head quickly. "When did you get here?"

Before Scorpius could answer, she felt a lurch—they were on their way.

As their boat trudged along the lake, Bryan glanced towards Scorpius several times. After a few minutes, he asked, "What's your name?"

"Scorpius Malfoy," he answered, holding his head high, all though his eyes communicated that he didn't seem as proud as his body language was letting on.

"Oh… I know you," Bryan said darkly, suddenly glaring at Scorpius with disgust. "You're the son of a murderer."

Rose gasped and glanced at Scorpius. Albus didn't notice—he was still whimpering besides Rose and lost in his own head. Scorpius kept his head held high. He didn't say a word and wouldn't break eye contact with Bryan.

"Yeah, my father told me all about your dirt bag dad," Bryan seethed. "A Death Eater for Voldemort; what a loser." He laughed darkly. "And I'm sure the spawn of evil can't be much better."

"That's enough," Rose whispered harshly. She was shocked that somebody who seemed so kind and funny could now act so differently towards a person he had just met. "There's no need to be so mean!"

Bryan laughed darkly once again and turned his eyes to Rose. "Why would you stick up for the son of a murderer, Rose?"

"Perhaps because he isn't his father," Rose stated lividly. "You don't even know him!"

A look of smug comprehension dawned on Bryan's face. "Oh I see," he said nastily. "You've taken a liking to the murderer's son, haven't you?"

Rose dropped her mouth in amazement. "What?"

"Trying to get a romance started so soon, Rose?" Bryan scoffed. "Bit young for that aren't you? Is this how it's going to be your entire time here?"

Rose had become angrier with every word that Bryan spoke and now he basically just called her a scarlet woman! However, before Rose could tell the boy what he could go and do with himself, she heard Scorpius scoff.

"Honestly? You believe that Weasley's attempted chivalrous action relays an attraction?" He rolled his eyes. "If you've been curious about which house you'll be sorted into, you can dwindle your musings by twenty five percent, because you are not going to be in Ravenclaw."

Bryan tried to look angry, but his confusion won out. "…what?"

Scorpius sighed. "You're an idiot," he pronounced slowly and clearly.

Bryan's face went from confused to irate very quickly. He began to move towards Scorpius, rocking the boat dangerously. "An idiot is someone who has made me mad, you piece of sh-"

"A' right, firs' years, here we are!"

The drama that was taking place in Rose's boat made her miss the amazing first sight of Hogwarts castle. Irritated, she pulled at a trembling Albus' arm so he would stand up, and left the boat quickly without another look back at the two boys who ruined her first experience of Hogwarts.

* * *

"Welcome to Hogwarts, students!" a short Professor with a shock of white hair squeaked. "My name is Professor Flitwick. In a few moments you will be escorted into the Great Hall, where you will be sorted into your houses. Now remember, while you are at Hogwarts, your houses will be like your family, so treat each other well!"

Professor Flitwick walked out of the room they were gathered in to prepare for the sorting, leaving dozens of very nervous future students. Rose looked around and saw some people whipping their wands around, unsure of what will take place with the sorting, but wanting to be prepared just in case they were required to cast a spell or fight a dragon or something along those lines. Some were like Albus, muttering to themselves and sweating. She turned to find Scorpius leaning against a wall in a corner of the room, looking at the ground. He didn't look nervous, but didn't look ecstatic to be in this situation, either. Rose thought she should go talk to him, but just then the doors of their holding room opened and Professor Flitwick was ushering them into the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was more magnificent than Rose had ever imagined. Of course she had read _Hogwarts: A History_ and heard stories of it from her parents, but simple words could not put into prospect the astounding nature of this room. The ceiling was enchanted to mirror the sky above the castle, which was currently shimmering with stars. Candles floated along the ceiling to light the Hall, while five long tables were placed around it. Rose looked around at the four tables holding returning students, seeing her cousin, James, smirking as he looked at his younger brother, who was shaking more now than ever.

"Students," peeped Professor Flitwick, "when I call your name, come and sit on the stool and I will place the sorting hat upon your head. Andrews, Gwyn."

Gwyn Andrews took a deep breath and sauntered up to the sorting hat, smirking the whole way. Once the hat was placed on her head, it only took a few seconds for it to shout, "GRYFFINDOR!" Gwyn shouted, "Yes!" and pumped her fist in the air. After much laughter and cheering, she sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"Boons, Daniel."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Dooberstein, Virginia."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Figueroa, Michael."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Finnigan, Bryan."

Bryan walked up to the stool and sat down with confidence. He looked at Rose while the hat deliberated, and smirked in a condescending way. After a few minutes, the sorting hat finally called out "GRYFFINDOR!"

Rose was amazed. How could someone so arrogant become a Gryffindor? It's a shame he was sorted into the house she was somewhat interested in, because there was no way she was going to spend any more time than necessary in his presence.

Rose waited impatiently while Victoria Frith ("SLYTHERIN!"), Jonathan Harold ("RAVENCLAW!") and Taunya Lyons ("HUFFLEPUFF!"), along with a few others, were sorted. Why did her last name have to be near the end of the alphabet?

"Malfoy, Scorpius."

The room suddenly grew deathly silent. The only sound that could be heard was Scorpius' steps as he walked up to the stool and sat down. Once the hat was placed on his head, Rose looked around the Great Hall. All eyes were on Scorpius—everyone wanted to know where the son of a Death Eater would end up, even though the Slytherins thought they knew. Each one of them had a smirk on their faces, absolutely positive they were getting one of the most powerful people in the new class.

After several minutes of the sorting hat asking Scorpius questions and Scorpius quietly answering, the hat had finally come to a decision.

"RAVENCLAW!"

The Slytherin's jaws dropped.

Just as before, not a word was heard. Scorpius walked quickly from the stool and to the very end of the Ravenclaw table, away from the other students, and sat down. After a few quiet seconds, the Great Hall exploded with the buzzing of over a hundred students talking at once about the somewhat shocking development.

"Students!" Professor Flitwick squeaked. "Students! Now may we please have some order!" Not one could hear him over the hum of the crowd. "Stu-"

Professor Flitwick was interrupted by a loud _BANG! _and red sparks flying into the air. All the students jumped, not expecting the blast. Everyone looked up to see the new Headmaster, Professor Copplestone, lowering his wand and gazing around the Great Hall, his eyebrow raised in admonishment.

"Please continue, Professor Flitwick."

"Right… ahem," Professor Flitwick cleared his throat and straightened his hat, which had gone awry after he jumped high in the air, startled by the loud noise. "Potter, Albus."

Rose looked at her cousin who was standing right next to her. He was taking several short breaths and staring at the stool and sorting hat, as if he were heading to his execution. He took a step forward, and then quickly began to turn around, ready to run. Rose grabbed his arm before he could take a step and whispered, "Go get sorted, you ninny!"

Albus look at Rose, terror in his eyes. He obeyed her command, however, and slowly trudged up to the stool. He closed his eyes as the sorting hat was inches from being placed on his head… but it never made it any farther than that.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The entire Gryffindor table cheered, with the exception of James, who was laughing his head off. Albus looked around in amazement, and then quickly ran down to the Gryffindor table. As he passed his laughing brother, Albus smacked him in the back of the head before taking a seat a few lengths down the bench.

Rose chuckled at Albus' revenge and continued to wait. And wait. And then, for a change of pace, she waited some more. She listened as Alexandra Robinson ("HUFFLEPUFF!"), Tay Shew ("GRYFFINDOR!") and Acacia Vanguard ("RAVENCLAW!") along with many other, were sorted. Finally, "Weasley, Rose."

Rose walked up to the sorting hat, excited to finally have her turn.

"Hm…" the sorting hat mused. "It's nice to see another Weasley in the school, all though I'm sure you won't get into as much trouble as your past relatives." Rose giggled. "You have your father's bravery, as well as his streak of stubbornness. However, there is one aspect that is overpowering those qualities dramatically… yes… I know just where you belong… RAVENCLAW!"

As the hat was taken off of her head, she saw the Ravenclaw table cheering—all except for one person who was sitting at the very end of the table and staring at his dinner plate.

_Well, _Rose thought, _this should be interesting… _


	3. Chapter 3: Second Year

Chapter 3: Second Year

The first year of Hogwarts passed in a happy blur for Rose. She discovered that she enjoyed cheering for the Quidditch team with her new friends, Cici and Chessie and spending time with her family on the weekends on the school grounds; and she absolutely loved to learn everything she possibly could. Studying to her was a simple task and she quickly became the top of each of her classes—except for Astronomy. Scorpius Malfoy took the top spot for their midnight lessons.

Rose grew increasingly frustrated throughout the year with Scorpius. She just couldn't figure the boy out! From what she could tell, he didn't have many friends, if any at all. He usually sat in the back row of each class, and during the evenings sat against an isolated wall in the common room so he was away from the other students, doing homework or reading a book. She honestly didn't know why he wasn't the top student in each class, seeing as all he did was eat, sleep, and study.

No matter how many times she would talk to the boy, he simply did not want to talk back, replying with one word or simple shrugs.

"_Scorpius, how was your weekend?" _

"_Fine." _

"_Scorpius, what's your favorite topic?" _

_*shrug* _

"_Scorpius, will you pass the bacon?" _

"_Mm." _

Being the smartest girl in her class didn't help her get an entire sentence out of Scorpius Malfoy and it frustrated her to no end. Coming from a big, open family where everything, from how someone feels about the meal they're eating to their inner most feelings about, well, anything was openly discussed, she wasn't familiar with having such a quiet, closed-off person in her midst.

"Mum, why is he like that?" Rose asked her mother during her summer vacation. She had been sitting with her mother in their kitchen for over an hour, taking a break from playing Quidditch with her many cousins and discussing her frustration of not being able to identify with the boy. "He won't talk to anyone; he won't stick up for himself when people pick on him… I just don't understand!"

Hermione Weasley looked at her daughter and sighed sadly. "I have a theory, darling, but it's not my place to spread rumors."

"But mum!" Rose pleaded. "It's driving me insane! All I want to do is get to know him. I know that Dad said to stay away," she said quickly before her mother could, once again, bring up her father's objections to her endless task of understanding Scorpius. "Please, just give me some sort of clue so I can figure him out!"

"Rosie, I learned a long time ago that not everything in this world is here for you to figure out," Hermione said with a small smile on her face. "And as I said, I don't know anything for sure. But I promise you, sweetheart," she continued, patting her daughter on the hand, "if Scorpius wants to tell you why he is the way he is, he will."

"But-"

"Rose, don't push him too far. He'll talk to you when he's ready." Hermione stood up and kissed her daughter on the head before exiting the kitchen, leaving Rose as frustrated as she was before she started talking to her mother.

Rose thought back on her conversation with her mother while watching Scorpius their first evening back at Hogwarts. He sat where he usually planted himself while the sorting ceremony took place-at the end of the table, where no one else could really sit around him.

_This is ridiculous, _thought Rose. _I'm the smartest girl in my class, not to toot my own horn. I should be able to figure out something as simple as Scorpius Malfoy! _

After the sorting ceremony and the delicious meal that followed, the Ravenclaws made their way to their common room on the west side of the castle. Rose flopped on the blue couch in front of the fire place with her friends, Cici and Chessie. They were talking about what they did during the summer and the new class of Ravenclaws. Cici turned her head slightly, glancing at something, then laughed.

"And there he goes, sticking his nose in another book. I suppose nothing's changed about him over the summer."

Rose glimpse around at who Cici was looking at and found Scorpius sitting against a far wall in the circular common room, reading a book.

"Someone should examine that boy's brain," Chessie giggled.

Cici laughed as well. "I'm sure they wouldn't find very much."

Rose watched as her two friends giggled at the expense of the quiet boy.

"Don't be mean," she scolded. "He's done nothing to you."

"Ah, the defender of the downtrodden," Chessie sighed, rolling her eyes.

Rose squinted. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Rose, ever since your very first day at Hogwarts, you've defended the poor sod," Chessie explained. "I don't understand why. He's never even spoken a full sentence to you. Or anyone, for that matter."

Rose tutted at her friends. "I have not."

"Yes you have, Rose," Cici said. "It's almost as if you're obsessed with keeping the boy protected."

"You two are being ridiculous," Rose sneered. "And just to prove to you about how wrong you are, I'm going to go and have an actual _conversation _with him." Rose stood up and began walking towards the isolated Scorpius.

"Fine, but you're just going to be disappointed again!" Chessie yelled at Rose's back.

Rose reached Scorpius and took a seat in the chair next to him. She watched him, waiting to be recognized. After a few minutes of simply staring at the boy reading, she cleared her throat.

And was met by him reading the book.

Okay, next plan.

"Hello, Scorpius."

"Hello, Rose," he greeted, not looking up from his book.

Rose continued to stare at him. She shifted in her seat. Then she tied her shoe. She put her hair up in a pony tail. After picking at all of her nails, she decided that her presence alone wasn't going to get him talking.

"So," Rose began, jump-starting the conversation, "what book are you reading?"

Scorpius sighed and closed his book before looking up at her. "Rose, was there something I could do for you?"

"Oh! Um…" Rose was at a loss for words now that he had actually spoken a full sentence to her. "No, I was… I was just-"

"Then if you wouldn't mind," Scorpius said, opening his book again, "I would like to get back to reading."

Rose stared at him silently, frustrated that he was _still_ not willing to talk to her. She shook her head and began to get up, and then had a change of heart.

"Listen," she said, sitting back down. "This day last year, Flitwick told us that our houses were like our families. And I just wanted to… I don't know," Rose huffed. "We're in the same house, so I wanted to treat you fairly, like family. And at least get to know you… or something."

Scorpius sighed again and put his book on the table in front of them. She perked up. Finally, he was going to talk to her! Scorpius leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees, looking her straight in the eyes.

"You'll find, Rose, that I'm not a very big 'family' person."

And with that, he picked up his book again and continued to read.

Rose gaped at him, not sure of what she had just heard. She stood up, trying to quickly think of something to say. Nothing came to her. She walked back to the couch in front of the fireplace in a daze and sat down with a huff.

"Told you s-"

"Shut up, Chessie," Rose muttered, crossing her arms and sliding down further on the couch. She glanced back at Scorpius and glared. He was still reading his book, as if nothing happened. But there was one thing about Scorpius that Rose could always read, and that was his eyes. He was still sad.

_Perhaps Scorpius Malfoy isn't as simple as I originally thought…_


	4. Chapter 4: Astronomy

**A/N: I don't really know anything about constellations, except that they're made up of stars, so if it sounds like I'm talking out my butt, I am. **

Chapter 4: Astronomy

Third and the beginning of fourth year were much the same for Rose. She still enjoyed being with her friends and family, she still enjoyed learning every day, and she was still frustrated by Scorpius Malfoy.

That's not to say there wasn't a slight breakthrough. He actually moved a few rows up in each class, usually sitting somewhere in the row behind Rose. Whenever she had a question about her homework, he helped. When they were stuck together on a project, he did his part. They discussed ingredients for potions and wand positions for Charms and Transfigurations. But nothing else was discussed. The most dramatic things she knew about him was that he held is wand incorrectly when performing the _accio_ spell and that he has very sloppy handwriting when taking notes.

Rose's friends often told her that her fascination with the boy was not healthy.

"Going to analyze the way he sits in class today, Rose?" Cici would ask, sounding annoyed.

"Or perhaps the way he nibbles on him quill when he thinks?" Chessie would chime in.

"You're both loony," Rose would laugh. "Getting to know someone isn't as terrible as you're making it out to be." She didn't mention that she already knew he sat up very straight in every class and that he chewed on his nails when thinking.

"Getting to know someone is fine," Cici would say. "But you're acting like you want to write the best biography ever drafted, the way you're learning every single detail about him."

When this, or any variation of this conversation would take place, Rose would just roll her eyes, tell her friends again that they were being absurd, and continue with her homework.

Homework is what brought Rose and Scorpius to sit together at the same table in their nearly empty common room late one evening in their fourth year. They had an astronomy project that they were assigned to do together. Rose was happy that she and Scorpius were partners—not because she was hoping to get to know more about him, but because he was the best astronomy student in their year.

"So, when the Perseus constellation is visible in June, then surrounding it-"

"May."

"Excuse me?" Rose asked, looking up from her notes.

"The Perseus constellation isn't visible in June. You'll have to switch that to either May or July and record the surrounding constellations visible for those months."

Rose looked down to quickly review her notes, then back to Scorpius. "You're absolutely correct."

Scorpius smirked, but said nothing.

Rose sighed and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes. "If this were the Orion constellation, I'd be far more interested in this project."

She opened her eyes to see Scorpius looking at her, an eyebrow raised in skepticism.

"What?" Rose blushed. "It's my favorite constellation."

Scorpius dropped his look of skepticism and gained a look of curiosity. "You have a favorite constellation?"

"Well… yeah," she answered. "At first, when I was younger, it was my favorite just because it was the easiest to spot," she laughed, embarrassed. "But after taking this class for the past four years and learning the mythology behind the stars, it has renewed my fondness for the constellation."

She rested her eyes again, deciding to take a short break before continuing with the project. Before she could return to the assignment, however, she heard a voice say quietly, "I've always been rather fond of the Pegasus constellation."

Rose stopped breathing. Was that Scorpius? Was he actually divulging information about himself? She had to be dreaming!

She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to ruin any confidence he might have built up by looking at him, so she quietly asked, "Why?"

She heard no response for several seconds. She was going to give up hope, until: "The shape always fascinated me as a child. I know the fact isn't true, but to me, the constellation always seemed the brightest."

Rose barely opened her eyes so she could sneak a glimpse at Scorpius, but she needn't have worried. He was looking at the scroll on the table with a slight smile on his face. The difference the smile made was phenomenal. His entire face light up and he seemed a bit more relaxed. He had little crinkles at the corners of his eyes and for once, they didn't seem cheerless. She cautioned to open her eyes further, hoping he would continue.

"I could lay in our yard all evening and watch the constellation travel across the sky." Then, something that shocked Rose even further—he laughed. "Once, I even tried to fly up to it on my father's broom."

Rose couldn't help it—she laughed with him. Scorpius looked up at her surprised—it seemed to her like he didn't realize he was recalling the story out loud. Not wanting him to stop with his revelation, she quickly asked, "What happened?"

Scorpius was once again quiet for a few seconds, as though he was deciding if he should disclose this tale or not. To Rose's delight, he did continue. "Well, I flew fairly far off our property but low to the ground, as I had never been on a broomstick before. When I decided that I was directly below the constellation, I began to fly perfectly vertical, and promptly slid right off the back of the broom," Scorpius finished with a smirk.

Rose gasped, but giggled when she saw that his smirk turned into a full smile. "Your parents must have been so worried."

Scorpius nodded his head slowly, but the smile began to slide off of his face. He seemed lost in his own head for a short spell. Then, out of nowhere, he quickly began packing his belongings into his backpack.

Rose was stunned by the rapid turn of events. "Scorpius, what-"

Scorpius stood up and began to walk away before she could say anymore.

_No! _Rose thought to herself. _I've gotten so far this evening! I won't let him get away!_

She stood up quickly from her chair and grabbed his arm before he could get too far away from her.

Scorpius stopped in his tracks and looked down at the hand holding his bicep. He then looked up at Rose's face, his own only showing expression through his eyes.

"Scorpius, what happened?" Rose whispered.

Scorpius continued to look into her eyes, and said, "I broke my arm and a few of my ribs." Rose gasped. "I lay on the ground for what seemed like forever, in more pain than I had ever felt in my life. I had hoped that someone would come and find me. When the sun began to rise, though, I gave back hope and started to try and find my way home, which wasn't very comfortable, I can tell you," Malfoy said, huffing in frustration and pushing his blond hair back from his eyes. "When I finally arrived at the house around mid-morning, I had forgotten the pain, because I was angry. I yelled at my father, asking why he didn't come find me. He informed me from behind the newspaper that he was reading, that if I was old enough to take his broom, I was old enough to find my way home. I then looked to my mother, and could tell by the look on her face and the tears in her eyes that she had wanted to come find me but he wouldn't allow her to leave the home to start a search." Scorpius sighed and hung his head. He closed his eyes for a moment before raising it and once again looking at Rose. "Now, if you'll excuse me," he said, looking at her hand still holding his arm, and then back into her face.

Rose stared at him for a moment, shock and awe clearly evident on her face. Then she realized she was still holding his arm, and let him go. She watched him walk away, his head held high and his saunter confident.

Rose dropped back into her chair, her head reeling. "Oh."


	5. Chapter 5: Hogsmeade

Chapter 5: Hogsmeade

"No."

"Rose, come on…"

"No."

"Please! Please just do it for me!"

"No, Albus!"

Rose and Albus were in the library. They have been having this same conversation for the past ten minutes, and it was getting rather old. Albus was begging Rose to accept the date from Bryan Finnigan, the abnormally mean boy from the boat ride to Hogwarts. He and Albus shared a dormitory, and they had become good friends over the past five years. Bryan must have told Albus about how he asked Rose out on a date to Hogsmeade this Saturday, and how she responded by laughing in his face and walking away.

"Rose, he's changed! I promise!"

"I highly doubt that," Rose murmured, continuing with her homework.

"You only think you know him from the boat ride we had five years ago!" Albus whined. "He's grown up!"

"I don't think someone can grow out of being a wanker, Albus."

"Rose!" Albus hollered, startling the other patrons of the library. Albus lowered his head, embarrassed, before continuing. "First, please don't talk about him like that; he's one of my best friends. And second, please, _please_ just give him a shot," he pleaded. "He's been bugging me non-stop about this and it's driving me insane."

Rose snorted. "I'm sorry he's driving you crazy but I was put in Ravenclaw for a reason. I'm clever enough to know that going on a date with him would be a terrible idea."

"Rose, please!"

"No."

Albus huffed, and crossed his arms. He tapped his foot, annoyed, while Rose continued with her homework. She felt his glare on her, and looked up to glower back. When she looked at him, though, she saw his expression change from irritated to mischievous.

"Albus, what-"

Before she could finish her sentence, however, her homework was stolen right out from under her by her cousin.

She sighed. "Albus, give it back."

He smiled evilly. "No."

Rose sighed again. "I can just write another essay, you know."

Albus seemed to think on that for a second, before slowly reaching under the table to Rose's right. Before she could realize what he was doing and stop him, he snatched her entire backpack and sat on it.

"Albus!" Rose scolded. "Stop being so childish!"

"No," he said again, wiggling around on his seat. Rose could hear inkwells rolling on the bottom of her backpack. She knew that if Albus continued to shuffle around like that, they would burst open and every school supply in that bag would be ruined.

"Stop," she pleaded. "You're going to break everything with your big butt."

"Say you'll go out with him."

"Al-"

"Come on, Rose," Albus said, stopping his wiggling. "One afternoon with the bloke won't kill you."

"You never know…"

Albus wiggled once again, and she heard a slight crack.

"All right!" she whispered, trying to stop him. "I'll go on one stupid date with him."

"Thank you!" Albus sighed with relief and handed Rose her essay and backpack. "And don't flake, please."

Rose glared at her cousin. "I keep my word," she replied through gritted teeth.

As Rose rummaged through her backpack to make sure that nothing was broken, she heard a quiet shuffling from a table somewhere behind a stack of book that she was sitting next to. She looked up and thought that she saw a flash of silvery-blonde hair. Before she could examine further, she saw a burst of light zoom past her face. She looked at Albus, who was absent-mindedly twirling his wand so quickly that red sparks had begun to fly out of the tip.

"Stop!" Rose demanded. "You're going to set the whole library on fire!"

Albus stopped what he was doing and looked at his wand, unaware of the sparks. He then looked at Rose, and shrugged.

Rose groaned and laid her forehead on the table in front of her. "I hate you, Al."

"I love you too, Rosie-Posey," Albus laughed.

* * *

"You're going on a date with a guy you despise?" Cici asked flabbergasted. "And here I was, thinking you had some sort if intelligence about you."

"Al was holding my stuff hostage with his behind, what else was I supposed to do?" Rose muttered angrily, sitting on a couch in the common room with Cici and Chessie.

"Hmm, you know, you have a point there, Rose," Chessie said. "I mean, I have no idea what I would have done if I were in your situation. Oh, well, except use magic. But psh, why do something that's all ready been done?" Chessie looked innocently at Rose's stunned face.

"I…" Rose began, trying to think of some sort of logical explanation as to why she didn't think of using magic. "I… I… I'm an idiot," she finished with a smack to her forehead.

"Yeah," Chessie smiled.

"Just flake on him," Cici yawned, stretching her arms above her head.

"I can't," Rose said miserably. "I told Al I would keep my word."

Chessie and Cici shook their heads at her. "Well, have fun with a jerk," Cici resigned.

"Wait," Chessie exclaimed, sitting up straighter. "What about Scorpius?"

"What about him?" Rose muttered darkly.

Ever since last year and the revelation about Scorpius' attempted trip to the stars, things had been very quiet between them. She made every effort to talk to him, trying to pretend that he never told her anything, but he wouldn't respond. He merely ignored her at all costs. He wouldn't look at her or even reply to her questions about homework. She only saw him in the common room and in their classes. And maybe also at the Quidditch matches, and sometimes when she was in the library working with Albus… not that she was searching for him or anything.

"I don't know," Rose continued. "Maybe this date will help me get my mind off of Scorpius for once."

"So you admit that you have been thinking about him non-stop for five years straight."

"Cici, you're a sweetheart," Rose said, rolling her eyes and getting up to walk to her dormitory. This was going to be a troubling weekend…

* * *

Rose trudged out of the Great Hall after breakfast the following Saturday, her eyes averted to the room's ceiling.

"I hate my cousin, I hate my cousin, I hate my cou-"

"Hello, Rose," she heard a smooth voice greet. She looked down and saw Bryan smiling at her.

"Finnigan."

Bryan laughed a bit awkwardly and walked closer to her. "Listen, I know I was a jerk the last time we spoke, which was, admittedly, a very long time ago." He looked her sincerely in the eyes. "But I promise you that I've changed. I've grown up and matured a bit, and I'm going to show you that today." He offered his arm to her so she could hook hers through it.

"We'll see," Rose said as she walked past him and out the doors of Hogwarts. She wasn't going to fall for his charm like she knew many of the other girls in the school did.

She looked over her shoulder to see if Bryan was coming and found that he was several steps behind her. She stopped in the courtyard to wait for him to catch up when she saw a peculiar sight—Scorpius Malfoy. He was walking on the other side of the courtyard, towards the gates of Hogwarts. To many, this would seem like a normal thing to see on a Hogsmeade weekend. However, Rose knew that in the previous two years they had been permitted to go to Hogsmeade, he had never gone.

"Sorry," Bryan apologized after catching up. "I had to tie my shoe. Shall we?" Instead of presenting his arm, he extended it towards the path, allowing her to walk first.

Rose nodded and began to walk. As they travelled into Hogsmeade, Bryan talked about his success in Quidditch, about why he hated classes, and how he and his friends pull stupid pranks on each other. Rose merely nodded and made "Mhm" noises but never contributed to the conversation.

When they arrived in the village, Bryan asked, "Where would you like to go first?"

"I need a few new quills, so I suppose we can visit Scrivenshafts," Rose said, walking towards the store. Bryan began to make a noise of protest, but Rose marched away too quickly to hear him. When she entered the store, she found hundreds of quills in different shapes and sizes. She loved this store. She knew it was ridiculous, but she could spend hours searching through the quills, examining the craftsmanship that went into creating each one.

While searching through the boxes of quills near the window, something shiny caught her attention. She looked out the window to see Scorpius walking up the street. She watched him until he went out of view. _What's he doing?_

After an exaggeratingly long time in the store (mainly to annoy Bryan, but she wasn't going to admit that) they exited the shop.

"How about a trip to Honeydukes?" Bryan asked, with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Yes, I suppose that would be acceptable," Rose quipped, and began walking towards the shop. She heard Bryan sigh behind her, and continued to walk.

When she entered Honeydukes, the first sight she saw was Scorpius Malfoy, looking intently at the price of Cockroach Clusters. He glanced up after a few seconds and saw her watching him, and immediately put the snack down and left the store.

"Scor-"

"Wow, I've always loved the smell of this store," Bryan said, breathing deeply as he walked into the store, passing Scorpius on the way.

Rose sighed and walked through the store, randomly picking things up and putting them back down, and ignoring everyone. _What in the world is he doing?_

"Rose," Bryan started, "would you like to go to the Three Broomsticks?" Rose nodded, still lost in her thoughts, and followed him out the door.

When they arrived at the crowded Three Broomsticks, Rose was still lost in her thought, and didn't even realize that she passed Scorpius, who was sitting by the front door sipping a Butterbeer.

Rose sat down at the table Bryan chose and chewed on her lip while she thought.

"Rose?"

_Why, out of all of the times he could have come to Hogsmeade, did he decide to come today?_

"Rose?"

_What is his problem? Why won't he just talk to me?_

"ROSE!"

Rose looked up, startled. Bryan was sitting in front of her, waving his hand in front of her face.

"Yes?" she responded, shaking herself from her reveries.

Bryan sighed and handed her the Butterbeer she wasn't aware that he ordered for her. "I have to say, Rose, that you haven't given me a fair chance today."

"What?" she asked, still slightly distracted.

"You've gone on this date with me, but you haven't really been here the whole time. You're either off thinking about something, or being rather short with me. So, it bears repeating, I do not think you've given me a fair chance to show you that I have changed."

Rose looked away from him, not wanting to confess that her dazed and unwanted attention on the young Malfoy was contributing to a less than stellar date. She wanted to hate Bryan. She wanted to blame him and be mean to him and just think of him as the stupid boy that was on her first boat ride to Hogwarts. But when she looked back at him and saw the sad smile on his face, she knew that she couldn't do those things and had to take the blame. "You're right," she admitted. "You're absolutely right. I apologize."

Bryan gave her one of his heart-melting smiles. "No harm done," he laughed. "How about we take a walk up to the Shrieking Shack and have an actual conversation."

"Sounds lovely," Rose smiled back at him as they stood up to leave.

On the walk up to the Shrieking Shack, Rose talked about her parents and Uncle Harry and the different stories they had told her about their days at Hogwarts. Bryan would chime in with what his father told him about her family when he could and they would laugh at the crazy situations the now adults found themselves in. Rose had to admit, Bryan was a pretty savvy conversationalist.

"You see?" Bryan questioned, leaning against a fence once they reached the outskirts of the Shrieking Shack. "I'm not so bad, am I?"

"Well, you've certainly improved in the past five years," Rose laughed. "You haven't glared at anyone or called me a slut yet, so this definitely trumps our last encounter."

Bryan sighed and swept the ground with his foot. "I'm really sorry about that. I was young and stupid and full of myself." Bryan began to slowly walk closer to her. "I hope that you can fully forgive me of being so foolish."

Rose watch as Bryan walked up to her and stopped when he was a mere inches away. He took her hand in his and linked their fingers together. "Um…" was the only reply she could think of at that moment.

"I'm glad that you agreed to go on this date with me, Rose, because for a long time I've been wanting to do this," Bryan whispered. He closed his eyes and began to lean in.

_I don't know if I want this! _Rose thought in a panic. _It's just happening so fast and—_

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard coming up the path to the Shrieking Shack. She turned to see who it was, causing Bryan to kiss her cheek instead of her lips.

She didn't know why, but she was surprised to see Scorpius walking up the path, his gaze on the ground. When he looked up to see the Shrieking Shack, he seemed genuinely surprised to see Rose and Bryan.

"Oh, I beg your pardon," he said, backing away. "Excuse me."

Bryan released Rose's hand and huffed. "Hold it, Malfoy!" he growled at the retreating back of Scorpius. Scorpius stopped and turned around, waiting for Bryan to continue. "What's your problem?"

"I was unaware that I had a problem," Scorpius said.

"You've been following us around all day!" Bryan shouted as he began walking towards Scorpius. "I doubt Rose has noticed, but every place we've gone today, you've been only a few steps behind."

"I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused you," Scorpius said, though Rose could detect heavy sarcasm in his apology. "I didn't mean to ruin your day with my presence."

Bryan reached Scorpius and grabbed the lapels of his jacket. "How about you shove off, stalker, before I make your life hell."

Scorpius did nothing to defend himself. He remained in his spot while Bryan glared at him menacingly.

"Bryan, stop!" Rose shouted and ran over to Bryan and Scorpius.

"Stay out of this, Rose!" Bryan yelled. "This is between me and Malfoy!"

Rose grabbed one of Bryan's arms and tried to pry him off of Scorpius. "So much for changing, Bryan! You're the same stupid boy you were five years ago."

"I said to stay out of it, Rose!" Bryan shouted and began to shake the arm that Rose was holding. He successfully unhinged her and subsequently made her lose her balance. She fell to the ground, landing with an _umph!_

The next several seconds sent waves of shock through Rose. She watched as Scorpius seemed to come to life. He broke free from Bryan's grasp by raising his arms between Bryan's and pushing out. Then, with all of his might, Scorpius punched Bryan square in the nose. Bryan staggered for a moment before falling to the ground. He was holding his nose and Rose could see blood seeping from between his fingers.

Scorpius stood over Bryan for a moment before bending down and lifting up the bleeding boy up partially by his own lapels.

Scorpius bent his head down to Bryan's ear and seethed with hate, "Never again." He then pushed Bryan roughly back down to the earth and 'accidently' kicked him in the ribs when he began walking over to Rose, who was still on the ground, and offered her his hand.

Rose stared at the hand for a moment, looking at it as if it were attached to an Erkling. She had never seen this side of Scorpius before, and she found it to be a bit scary. One look into his face, however, let her know that she could trust him. He was glancing down at her with a slight look of worry—she knew he wanted to make sure she was okay.

Rose grabbed his hand and he yanked her to her feet. Then, without a word, he turned around and walked away.


	6. Chapter 6: Changes

Chapter 6: Changes

"Your assignment is to write an essay on the practical application of a Strengthening Solution! Include all of the ingredients and what parts they play!" Professor Patton, the Potions professor, yelled over a class that was beginning to pack up their belongings.

"All the ingredients?" a Hufflepuff with brown hair and glasses called out. "Sir, with all due respect, that's bullocks."

"Anyone that agrees with Justice's views on this can join him in detention on Saturday," Professor Patton stated pointedly, looking around the class to see if anyone dared disagree with his assignment.

The Hufflepuff sputtered, "B…but-"

"Noon on Saturday, Justice. See you then," Professor Patton said. He then looked at the rest of the class and smiled merrily. "Class dismissed."

The students finished packing up their things and began leaving the room, unbeknownst to Rose, who was staring at the table, completely lost in thought.

It was Wednesday now. The Hogsmeade Debacle, as Rose liked to call it, had happened four days ago and Scorpius just continued on with his days and evenings like nothing had ever happened. He didn't talk to her, look at her, or acknowledge her in any way, just like always; it was driving her to the edge of sanity.

_How could he go on like this? _Rose thought to herself, randomly doodling on the corner of her parchment. _He punched my date in the nose. This is a big deal!_

"Rose? Rooooooosieeeee!"

She shook her head quickly and saw Cici and Chessie standing in front of her, their backpacks over their shoulders.

"Oh, is class over?" she asked, looking around and seeing the nearly empty classroom.

"Uh, yeah," Cici answered. "There was an assignment, a detention, a dismissal…" She stared at Rose, a look of concern on her face. "Where have you been, Rose?"

"Hogsmeade," Rose muttered to herself. She began to slowly collect her things when she saw the object of her bemusing musings still packing his school supplies as well.

"Um, you guys go ahead," she said to Cici and Chessie. "I, uh… I've got to…"

"Blah blah blah," Chessie laughed, completely aware of what her friend _had_ to do. "Good luck." With that, she and Cici left the room. Rose was going to have to remember to thank them later for putting up with her for five years.

Rose dilly-dallied with her belongings while Scorpius slowly packed his things. He then exited the classroom and turned right, presumably heading up to the Great Hall to eat lunch. Before he could make it too far, however, Rose grabbed his arm and dragged him to the left, further into the dungeons. When she was sure that they were alone, she let go of him.

"I have a feeling you would like to say something, Rose," Scorpius remarked sarcastically, leaning against the cold wall.

"I…" she started. "I just wanted to…" _Well, there's no delicate way to say this, may as well be blunt. _"Why were you following me and Bryan in Hogsmeade?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes and threw his arms up in the air. "I wasn't following you!" he exclaimed, frustrated.

"Scorpius, Bryan may be an idiot but he was right. You were everywhere we were that day."

Scorpius crossed his arms and glared at her. "Have you ever thought that maybe you were everywhere _I_ was?"

"That's not what happened and we both know it," Rose said patiently. "Please tell me why you were following us."

"I was _not_ follo-"

"Scorpius."

Scorpius pursed his lips and stared Rose in the eyes. He took three deep, slow breaths, and then said, "My life sucks, Rose."

Rose's eyes widened at the statement. _O…kay. _Rose thought to herself. _I'm not quite sure what this has to do with anything… _

"I don't have friends and I know it's because of the way I am. I'm quiet and reserved and I'd rather be by myself. I'm not dense; I know this is the main contributor." Scorpius sighed and looked to the ground to talk to his feet. "Being so quiet helps me hear what people say behind my back. I play it off like I don't hear the mean things people say. I act like it doesn't bother me. But it certainly doesn't help when I'm already in a sour mood." He stopped for a moment and took a few more deep breaths. "You're the only person who's ever stuck up for me. Even when I don't stick up for myself, you're there to tell people to leave me alone." Scorpius rubbed his eyes and kept his hands over them when he was finished. "Because of this, you've unknowingly developed the ability to settle me when I'm angry or frustrated at the world. It doesn't matter if we're simply in the same room or you're on a date with an idiot. Merely being around you makes my life tolerable."

Rose stared at Scorpius, completely stunned. "I…" She really had absolutely no idea what to say to him. "I…" _Think, Rose, think! _

"I'm sorry," Scorpius murmured sadly before she could say anything else. He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against and walked back towards the potions classroom and up the stairs, leaving Rose with some serious thinking to do.

* * *

The next day, Rose dawdled after Transfiguration class. She had tossed and turned all evening, Scorpius' revelation playing over and over again in her head. After hours of sleeplessness and lots of soul searching, she deduced that she had no idea what to do.

It wasn't until the next day, when Rose was in Transfiguration learning about Animagi, that she decided she just needed to confront him. She told her friends to once again go on without her so that she could speak with the young man.

After everyone left the class except for Scorpius (he was always the last to leave, she was noticing), she walked to him and calmly asked, "Can I speak with you for a moment?"

Scorpius started, not having realized she was still in the room. He glanced around to see if anyone could save him from what he knew was coming, but saw no one. He sighed and averted his eyes to the ground before nodding.

"First of all," Rose began, "you can't say the kind of things you said to me yesterday and just apologize and run off. It leaves me in a state of perpetual confusion and a night of restlessness. If you ever feel the need to confess to me again, I'm going to have to ask you to stick around so that I can give a proper reaction and we can talk things through. Is that understood?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but talking isn't really one of my strong suits," Scorpius said, leaning against his desk.

"Oh no, you're a very eloquent speaker, which brings me to point number two. Things are going to have to change," Rose explained, sounding very resolute.

"What do you mean, change?" Scorpius asked skeptically.

"I want to get to know you. And not in the way that I know what your classes are or what your best subject is. Those things are obvious. I mean I really want to get to know you. I want to know your past, plans for the future, your likes and dislikes, things like that."

Scorpius' looked away, an uneasy expression on his face. "Rose…"

"If you're going to hang around me so that your 'life is tolerable'," she quoted, "then I want to know you. I'm tired of trying to guess what's going on in your head. I want us to talk and to have actual conversations. I want to know the real Scorpius Malfoy. I want us to be friends."

Scorpius thought about this proposition for a moment. He then shook his head roughly and stood up to his full height, staring down at Rose. "What if I don't want anything to change?" he asked, almost menacingly. "What if I want everything to stay the same and I don't care what you think?"

Rose raised an eyebrow and looked him straight in the eye. They stayed that way for several seconds, Scorpius glowering at Rose's skepticism, until Scorpius gave up. He sighed and sat down at his desk. "What do you want to know?"

Rose smiled brightly and sat down across from him, thinking of a question. One popped into her head almost immediately and she asked without even thinking, "Why didn't your father want to go and find you when you fell off the broom that night?"

"I told you all ready. He said-"

"I know what he said," Rose voiced, "but I also know there has to be a deeper reason than that—something you're not telling me."

Rose saw that Scorpius was about to protest that there was nothing more to reveal about the tale, but instead he sighed and shook his head, looking down at the desk. "Can we start with something a little less hard hitting?" he asked in a small voice.

Rose was overly curious now about the answer now, but she wouldn't push the issue for fear that he would run away from their new understanding. "All right," she replied. "Hmm… what's your favorite color?"

"Red," Scorpius replied without even thinking. He then glanced up at her quickly, eyes wide. "Um… can we be… I think we're done for now. We'll continue later," he stumbled quickly before gathering his belongings and leaving the classroom.

Rose leaned back in her chair and smiled. They were definitely getting somewhere.

* * *

Rose walked into her History of Magic classroom later that day with a mission in mind. She saw that her seat with Chessie and Cici was open, but instead she navigated to an empty seat behind her usual row—a seat right next to Scorpius Malfoy.

Chessie and Cici stared at Rose with identical looks of amazement on their face before they turned around and began to whisper back and forth. Chessie looked back after a few seconds and gave Rose thumbs up. Rose smiled at her and looked over to Scorpius, who was staring at her with shock written on his face.

"What are you doing?" he whispered.

"Sitting. Preparing to learn some history of magic. Why? What are you doing?" She replied, smiling at him.

Scorpius shook his head slowly and turned back to the front of the class, where Professor Binns had just floated in through the chalkboard.

Rose and Scorpius took notes about the International Warlock Convention of 1289, which they had already learned about in second year. It wasn't long before Rose realized that there wasn't any new information coming their way, so she continued with her mission. She wrote a question on a piece of parchment and slid it to Scorpius.

_What's your favorite food?_

Scorpius looked at the note, then back at Rose. She was facing Professor Binns but watching Scorpius out of the corner of her eye. He shook his head in exasperation before scribbling on the note and passing it back.

_Steak and kidney pie._

_What's your favorite animal? _Rose wrote next.

_The Basilisk. _

_Really? _

_Yes, I find them to be fascinating. _

Rose looked at him after reading his response and saw him shrug.

_What's your favorite number? _

_People actually have favorite numbers? _

Rose giggled silently at his response and saw him smirk.

_Okay, what's your middle name?_

_Hyperion. _

Rose snorted out loud, causing Cici to look back at her. She gathered her composure and wrote back.

_Are you serious? _

_I don't know if you could tell by my little flying to the stars story, Rose, but my father isn't a very nice man._

Rose accidently let out a bark of laughter that caused the entire class to look at her.

"Excuse me," she mumbled, looking down embarrassed. She glanced over at Scorpius, who had a perfectly straight face. His seriousness only made her want to laugh more, and she put her head on her desk so the giggles wouldn't be so obvious.

When she calmed down, she realized the note was gone. She looked over at Scorpius who was writing.

_When do I get to start asking you questions?_

_Well, I suppose right now, since you just asked me one. _

Scorpius rolled his eyes at her.

_Who is your favorite cousin? _

Rose groaned, trying to think of an answer. The thoughts of death by ten cousins, however, wouldn't allow her to finish her thoughts. _Can we start with something a little less hard hitting, please?_

Scorpius looked over and smiled at her before writing.

_Favorite color? _


	7. Chapter 7: Friends

Chapter 7: Friends

Rose and Hugo had been unfortunately blessed with an early internal alarm clock, which found them both sitting in the Great Hall on a Sunday morning during Rose's sixth year. She walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat next to her fourth year brother.

"Um, what are you doing?" Hugo asked, his fork of eggs frozen halfway to his mouth.

"Eating breakfast," Rose stated obviously, piling food on the plate in front of her.

Hugo watched her add bacon to her plate before shaking his head clear. "But you can't eat here. _You're_ a Ravenclaw. _This_," he indicated by pointing at the table, "is the Gryffindor table."

Rose looked up and down the length of the table. She saw only two other Gryffindors' sitting at the other end of it, both drinking coffee, trying hard to stave off sleep.

"I really don't think anyone's going to mind," she smirked at him, and continued to gather her breakfast.

Hugo shook his head, seemingly giving up on the subject. "Fine. Good morning, Rose. What are you doing today?" he asked with false cheerfulness.

Rose, ignoring her brother's sarcastic greeting, chewed on a piece of toast and pondered. "I'm not sure. Might go for a walk, probably going to study in the library with Scorpius. The typical Sunday, really."

Rose looked over after hearing Hugo huff and saw a disgruntled look on his face.

"What died in your cereal?" she asked, taken back by his sudden mood change.

Hugo put his fork down and sighed. "Rose, I just… I don't like how much time you're spending with that Malfoy."

"Oh?" Rose asked, falsely curious. "And do tell, why exactly is that?"

"He's just… he's…. he…."

"He's _what_, Hugo?" Rose asked, staring at him expectantly.

"Well," Hugo hesitated, "he's… he's a… Malfoy…" Hugo finished quietly, unable to look Rose in the eye.

"Yes, and?" Rose continued to question, raising her eyebrows at her brother.

Hugo scooted a bit away from his sister, slowly becoming more fearful of her. "Well, you know what Dad says about the Malfoys…" he continued hesitantly.

"Yes, and?"

Hugo huffed again and stared down at his plate. "You're impossible."

Rose smiled at her brother before continuing her breakfast. It didn't matter how old they got, she would never grow tired of irritating her brother.

* * *

"Scorpius."

"Rose."

The pair greeted each other when Rose found him in the library at one of the many tables working on his homework. Scorpius gave her a full smile before she sat down and pulled out her own work.

The last year had seen a great improvement between Rose and Scorpius. Their simple ice-breaking questions had turned into conversations about their favorite Quidditch teams, people in the school, Rose's family (despite her never answering the favorite cousin question), daily events in the wizarding world, and anything they could think of off the top of their heads. They had become fast friends in no time at all causing Rose's sanity to stay intact.

Just because they were friends now, though, didn't mean that she wasn't going to still ask him questions.

"If you could change one thing about your daily routine, what would it be?" Rose asked after she was settled at their table.

"I wouldn't have you asking me questions while I'm trying to finish my Potions essay," Scorpius replied without hesitation, still scribbling content on his homework.

"Ha," Rose replied dryly. She stared at him, waiting for an answer.

After a few moments of Rose's relentless gaping, Scorpius gave up his writing and put his quill down. He looked at her before saying, "I would make classes start later in the morning."

"Not an early bird?"

"Have you ever seen me up before eleven if I didn't have to be?" Scorpius laughed, returning to his essay.

"Hmm… point proven," Rose smiled humorously.

She pulled out her homework before she asked, "Why didn't your father-"

"Next question, please."

"Scor-"

"Next question, Rose," Scorpius said tersely, not taking his eyes off of his essay, but not writing anymore either.

Over the past year, Rose had tried to ask him this question dozens of times. On each occasion, she received no response. He would either clam up or change the subject quickly. She was continuously curious about the answer, but dropped it each time he didn't want to talk about it.

Rose knew that it was important to change the subject to keep him comfortable. She thought a moment, and then asked, "What do you want to do once you leave Hogwarts?"

Scorpius looked up from his essay. "You know, Flitwick asked me that question a year ago, and I still don't have an answer."

"You have no idea what you want to do?" Rose asked, surprised.

"None," Scorpius replied. "Why, what do you want to do?"

"Well, nothing at first."

"Nothing? That's a good use of your education. Fine choice, Rose," Scorpius said sarcastically, shaking his head in good humor.

"Obviously I'm going to do something," Rose said, "just not right away. When I leave Hogwarts I want to take advantage of my abilities and adulthood. I want to travel, see things I've never seen, try foods I've never tried, enjoy my freedom."

"Sounds like fun," Scorpius smirked.

"Want to come?" Rose asked without thinking. After she realized what she said, she bent her head over her homework, letting her hair fall into her face so that it could hide her red cheeks.

Rose loved her friendship with Scorpius but as they progressed in their sixth year, she realized that her own feelings for her newfound friend were progressing as well. The little changes in Scorpius since the beginning of their friendship had made a big difference in the way he presented himself. He smiled more frequently, which lit up his entire face. He began talking to other students, which made his personality shine more. She found out that he was one of the funniest people she knew—he made her laugh on an hourly basis. Even when they weren't around each other, the mere memory of something he said earlier that day made her giggle. All of these things contributed to her new found more-than-friendly feelings for him.

Not that Rose would ever tell him. They had just become friends. She didn't want to risk their friendship because of her stupid emotions.

She glanced up at Scorpius a few seconds after her accidental invitation. He looked slightly shocked, but was smiling nonetheless. "I wouldn't miss it," he replied, then returned to his essay.

Rose's gazed at Scorpius in shock. Did he just accept her invitation? Did this mean-

"Rose!" She heard a frantic whispering that snapped her out of her reveries. She looked up to see her cousin walking quickly towards her. "Oh thank goodness, I'm so happy I found—Oh, hello, Scorpius," Albus greet cordially. Albus was as dubious about Rose's friendship with Scorpius as Hugo was at first, until he was promptly met with a smack on the back of the head by Rose, which quickly changed his mind.

"Albus," Scorpius acknowledged. He looked at Rose and smirked, well aware of Albus' doubtfulness.

"Rose, I need your help. I completely forgot that I had an essay due in Transfiguration so I haven't started on it yet and it's due first thing tomorrow and please, _please_ help me!" Albus spit out quickly, finishing his beseeching by landing on his knees and clasping his hands together in a pleading fashion.

Rose could see Scorpius out of the corner of her eye, silently shaking with laughter. Rose found it very hard to keep a straight face when she replied. "What's your topic on, Al?"

Albus sighed with relief. "You're the best, Rose."

"I know."


	8. Chapter 8: Question

Chapter 8: Questions

Rose glanced at Scorpius for the twentieth time that night. She was sitting with Chessie and Cici on the couch in front of the fireplace while Scorpius was sitting in a chair across the common room, reading a book. He had become more comfortable with being around people since becoming friends with Rose, but every once in a while he still enjoyed his quiet time in an isolated part of the room.

It had been nearly four seemingly long months since she realized that she would like something more than friendship with Scorpius. She didn't mention anything, though, she merely longed from afar.

Chessie and Cici had been trying to get Rose to tell Scorpius how she felt since they found out two months ago.

"You're being stupid, Rose," Cici said, not looking up from her homework, but knowing exactly what she was doing.

"I'm not being stupid," Rose muttered, sitting further down into the couch and crossing her arms.

Chessie, who was sitting on the couch with Rose, looked up from her book. "If you don't go talk to him about how you feel, then you're only ever going to be just friends with him. Do you want to just be friends for forever Rose? Do you?" She interrogated.

Rose glared at Chessie. "If that's what it takes."

"You're being stupid, Rose," Cici repeated herself, still doing homework.

Rose stuck her tongue out at Cici. "I'm not going to risk a good friendship because of something I happen to be feeling now," Rose stated. "I mean, what if I don't feel this way in a few months time? Then what? I'm stuck in a relationship until I end it and then I don't have the friendship anymore. I've thought this through, ladies, and I'm not being stupid. I'm being smart about this."

"No, Rose, you're being stupid," Cici said, finally looking up at her. "You're scared that you'll lose a friendship, but you're missing the opportunity for an incredible relationship." Cici picked up a book and began to read. "Ergo, you are being dense. Thick. Brainless, foolish, senseless, mindless-"

"Give me your thesaurus, Cici!" Rose hollered taking away the book Cici was looking in. She sighed as she put the book on the table in front of them. "And stop being right."

Chessie and Cici stopped in their tracks and stared at Rose. This is the first time she had admitted that she was making a mistake when it came to Scorpius and her friends obviously couldn't believe it.

"Go!" they yelled together as they jumped to action. Chessie put her legs on the couch behind Rose and pushed at her back, making Rose fall off. Cici then jumped from her chair, grabbed Rose's ankles and pulled her towards the center of the common room. Rose tried to holler at them to stop, but the action was done before she could finish her shout.

Everyone nearby was staring at Rose. She quickly got up, embarrassed and turned back to her two so-called friends. "What-"

"Go or we'll embarrass you further," Cici threatened.

"And you know we're capable," Chessie smiled sweetly.

"What am I supposed to-"

"GO!" they hollered.

"Fine!" Rose shouted before she began to walk to Scorpius. She had no idea what she was going to say, but she knew her friends were right—she had to say something.

She sat down in the chair across from Scorpius in a daze, trying desperate to think of something to say.

"Hello, Rose," she heard a voice say. She looked up and saw Scorpius smiling at her in amusement.

"'Lo."

Scorpius laughed. "That was quite the spectacle over there," he said, referencing the scene she'd just had with her two friends.

"…..yeah."

"Was it about anything in particular?" Scorpius asked slowly, as if Rose didn't understand English.

"…yes."

Scorpius waited a few seconds to see if she would continue. She didn't. "Well okay then." He then went back to his book.

_Man up, Rose Weasley! You come from a long line of Gryffindors! Use some of that courage you inherited! _Rose thought, berating herself. _Ask him to the Hogsmeade weekend this Saturday. You've gone together before; it'll be a nice, easy… whatever._ She squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and plunged forward.

"Sco… abuuh… um…" _IDIOT!_

Scorpius didn't look up from his book, but Rose could see a small smirk on his face.

_Okay, try again,_ Rose thought to herself. She took another deep breath. "I have a question." _Better. _

"I'm not surprised," Scorpius said from his book.

Rose closed her eyes again to calm herself, and then continued. "Scorpius, there's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up."

Scorpius looked up at Rose and smiled. "That's not a question."

_Thank you for making this so easy on me, Malfoy, _Rose thought, irritated. "I would like for you to go with me."

Scorpius raised his eyebrow. "We always go together."

Rose's courage started to dwindle with Scorpius' dubious looks. "Uh… yes, you're right."

Scorpius put his book on the table in front of him and examined her. "What's going on, Rose?"

_He'll just say no,_ Rose told herself. _There's no way this is going to work out…_ Rose glanced to her two friends sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace. Cici was looking at her expectantly, and Chessie was giving her an innocent smile. Rose didn't trust that smile—it's led to far too many embarrassing situations for her.

She glared at her friends—they weren't going to let her get away without asking Scorpius out. She focused her attention back on Scorpius, took a large breath, and said the sentence she was dreading. "I want you to go on a date with me on Saturday to Hogsmeade."

Scorpius' eyes widened to the size of saucers. He dropped his jaw and stared at Rose before stuttering, "A… a da… a what?"

In all the years she has known Scorpius Malfoy, she had never once heard him stutter. _Oh dear, _she thought. _This must be traumatizing for him. _She continued, however. "A date. We go out and have fun exclusively with each other. One of us pays for a meal, and at the end of the date, if things go well—"

"Rose!" Scorpius shouted, covering his ears with his hands. He looked down at the table in front of him, still wide-eyed, apparently trying to figure out what in the world was going on.

Rose sighed and sat back in her seat. She knew he wouldn't go for this. Still, she trudged forward (mainly because she knew her best friends' wouldn't let her NOT continue). "I would like to go on a date with you, Scorpius."

Scorpius snapped out of his reverie and stared at Rose again. He then whispered, "Why?"

Rose, for some reason unknown to her, was not expecting this question. "Because…" she started. _Because I really like you. Because I think you're dreamy. Because I would like to feel your lips— _"I just do!" she finished, throwing her arms in the air before putting her face in her hands. _This is going terribly._

She heard Scorpius take a few short breaths. "Rose, this could change-"

"Stop," she said from her hands. She rubbed her face before looking into Scorpius' eyes. "Let's just give it a shot. Just once. If things don't go the way we want them to, we'll go straight back to the way things are. No harm, no foul."

Scorpius looked down at his hands before smirking. "How very… Gryffindor of you."

"Should I be insulted?"

Scorpius sighed. "I'm not sure yet." He leaned back in his chair and ruffled his hair. "Look, I just don't know about this…"

"Scorpius, I don't want to beg," Rose began. Scorpius was looking at the ceiling, trying to avoid all eye contact. _I'm tired of this,_ she thought. "And I'm not going to. I'll see you here at eleven o'clock on Saturday morning." And with that, Rose stood up, went to the couch by the fireplace where her two friends were sitting, picked up a book off the table, hit Cici in the head with it, and then went up the stairs to her dormitory.

Scorpius followed Rose with his eyes, wide with disbelief. "Of all the stubborn…"

* * *

It was eleven o'clock on Saturday. Rose sat in a chair against Scorpius' isolated wall and waited.

It had been two days since Rose "asked" Scorpius out on a date. It had been the worst two days she had in a long time. She and Scorpius had avoided each other completely. There was no talking, no studying-nothing. Rose regretted asking him, now, and just wanted things to go back to the way they were.

She was sitting there, ready to tell him just that, when he came down from his dormitory and walked to her.

"Are you ready?" he asked, his hands in his pockets and looking at the ground.

"Listen, we can just skip this—"

"Oh no, no, no!" Scorpius objected, scolding Rose. "You were _insistent _that we go on this… this… this date. So we're going to go. Just the two of us. 'Have fun with exclusively each other,'" he quoted.

Rose glared at Scorpius, who had a holier-than-thou look on his face, and couldn't help but laugh. "Well, if you insist."

Scorpius laughed and offered his arm for Rose to take. She giggled again before taking it, and the pair headed out the common room.

* * *

Rose had more fun than she could have ever thought she would.

Their date started off at the Three Broomsticks where they had a few butterbeers. This was not out of the norm, but there were a few more light touches to the hand when making a point and some light smacks to the shoulder when Scorpius made Rose laugh.

They then continued to Zonko's, where Scorpius bought a pair of Muggle Groucho Marx glasses, then proceeded to wear them for an hour with the demeanor that he wasn't wearing them at all. Rose couldn't help but laugh whenever she looked up at him as they were walking down the streets of Hogsmeade talking.

After a while, Rose asked, "Do you want to head up to the Shrieking Shack?"

"I don't know," Scorpius replied, thinking. "Am I going to have to punch anyone?"

"HA!" Rose barked sarcastically, and then began walking on the path up to the shack.

Scorpius caught up with her, laughing as he did. "You know, I'm surprised you want to go up there, seeing as how it's haunted and all."

"Oh it's not haunted," Rose started, but stopped as her heart beat sped up—Scorpius' shoulder was rubbing against hers as they walked.

"No?" Scorpius asked, interested.

"Um… oh, no," Rose snapped back to reality. "My mum, dad, and Uncle Harry were all in there before. They followed Sirius Black in there because he had my dad."

"Is that so?" Scorpius inquired. Then his hand brushed against hers.

Rose's breath came in shorter bursts. "Ye… yes. It turns out, though, that he wasn't after my dad, but after my dad's pet rat, because the rat was actually Peter Pettigrew…" Rose paused when she felt Scorpius' hand take hold of hers.

She glanced at Scorpius out of the corner of her eye and saw that he was finding Rose's flabbergasted behavior far too humorous. _He's doing this on purpose to get my flustered!_ she thought, aggravated . _Well! Two can play at this game…_

Rose squeezed the hand that was holding hers and continued her story. "Peter Pettigrew sold out my Uncle Harry's parents to Lord Voldemort and framed Sirius for their murders." As she spoke, she snuggled up against Scorpius' side so there was virtually no space between them.

Scorpius cleared his throat. "Oh... um… really?"

"Yes indeed," she began rubbing his arm with her free hand. "Uncle Harry wouldn't let Sirius kill Peter though, and Peter got away."

"You don't say," Scorpius squeaked.

"Yes," Rose answered, placing her head on his shoulder. She felt his breath become uneven. "And do you know what happened next?" she asked softly.

"W…what?"

"Uncle Harry looked at Sirius, and then said, 'Oh, how the tables have turned!'" Rose laughed as she took her head off his shoulder and turned towards Scorpius. It took him a moment to realize that wasn't actually what happened between her Uncle Harry and his godfather.

"Oh, you're mean," he chuckled. "You get me interested in your story and completely throw me off!"

"It's nothing you didn't deserve," Rose laughed.

"I beg to differ; I was merely trying to…"

Scorpius stopped his thought when he realized the same thing Rose did: During their playful spat they had taken a few steps towards each other and were now very close. She looked at Scorpius and saw him gulp.

_All right, Weasley, this is it. Gryffindor courage… Gryffindor courage… _

Rose took one final step towards Scorpius so that they were merely inches apart. She licked her lips and placed her hand softly on Scorpius' cheek. She felt him lean into her hand before she inclined forward just slightly and closed her eyes…

…and felt Scorpius' cheek leave her hand. She opened her eyes to see Scorpius taking several steps away from her. His eyes were wide and he was shaking his head slowly.

Rose lowered her hand and took a step towards him. "Scor-"

"I can't," he whispered, looking at the ground. "I'm sorry."

Rose watched him run down the pathway away from the Shrieking Shack with tearful eyes.


	9. Chapter 9: Findings

Chapter 9: Findings

It took a couple of minutes for the shock to wear off. After Rose shook off her daze, she felt panic rise in her. She quickly ran down the winding path, looking all over for Scorpius. After running down the entire path, down every street in Hogsmeade, and into each store, Rose ascertained one thing: Scorpius could book it.

The sun began to set as she sprinted back onto the Hogwarts grounds. She desperately searched everywhere. She started near the lake, went to the Quidditch pitch, searched the locker rooms, and even ventured a few steps into the Forbidden Forest. After another two hours of searching, she still couldn't find him.

She ran back up to the castle. She checked the courtyard, and only saw people looking oddly at her frantic behavior. She rushed into the castle and checked the Great Hall—no Scorpius. She dashed to the library and checked their table and around each tome—no Scorpius.

She then went to the Ravenclaw common room. He wasn't against his secluded wall or in any other seat in the round room. She hurried over to Jonathan Harold and asked him to check their dorm room (threatening bodily harm if he dared to lie to her), but he came back with a negative report.

It was now past midnight. She was in the hallways of Hogwarts, skirting around prefects and an old caretaker. She was tired from running around most of the day and hungry because she skipped dinner, but continued with the urgent need to find Scorpius. She had started on the very top floor of Hogwarts and worked her way down. She was now on the first floor, searching each classroom she passed. After the twelfth classroom without as much as a speck of blonde hair, she sat down, distracted, on a step and placed her head in her hands.

She had to find him. She remembered the past two days of not talking or having any sort of contact with Scorpius. She hated it. She needed to talk to him and sort everything out so that the miserable feeling in the pit of her stomach would go away.

She sighed and leaned back, expecting to find a wall to rest her head on. She quickly stilled when she realized, with a jolt, that she wasn't stopping. She looked behind her and saw a stairway. A stairway leading to….

Rose smacked herself in the forehead. "Rose, you are the stupidest Ravenclaw to ever attend this school," she berated herself as she dashed up the Astronomy tower stairs.

She burst through the door, frantically searched the room, and found what she had been trying to find for the past eight hours. Scorpius was sitting against a wall with his head in his knees, which were pulled up to his chest.

Rose took a deep, relieved breath and slowly walked over to Scorpius. She knelt down in front of him when she reached him and stayed there, silent. Finally, after a few very long quiet moments, Scorpius raised his head just enough so that she could see his eyes.

"I want to go back to the way things were," Scorpius murmured. He was taking short breaths and his voice was very shaky.

Rose widened her eyes slightly at his proclamation. "Scorpius-"

"I just… I'm sorry, Rose, but I can't do this with you. I can't… I just…" Scorpius eyes were frenzied, looking all over, but not again into Rose's own eyes.

Rose tilted her head to the side. "Why?" she asked simply.

Scorpius stood up quickly and began to pace. "I just can't, Rose!" he yelled, pulling his hands through his hair.

Rose sat down on the floor, crossed her legs, and watched him pace. She again asked calmly, "Why?"

"Why!" Scorpius hollered. He rubbed his hands on his face roughly. "You keep asking why! For the last year you've asked me why! Do you really want to know why, Rose?" he asked, glaring at her.

Rose remained calm. "Yes."

Scorpius took a few short breaths before he continued pacing. "Because I'm hated."

Rose gasped. "Scorpius, no you're-"

"Stop," he said in a deathly quiet tone. He knelt down in front of her, scowling, before continuing. "You've asked me why my father didn't come find me after I tried to fly to Pegasus. It's because I'm hated, Rose." Scorpius shook his head before he began pacing again. "My father was a big playboy after he left Hogwarts. He loved being with a different woman every week. He had a little book full of at least a hundred names of women he had slept with once and then ditched. He was proud of his life. One of these women was Astoria Greengrass." Scorpius balled his fists as he continued. "With her, however, his contraception spell didn't work well enough, and I was conceived. When her father found out, he was furious." Scorpius stopped pacing, leaned against a wall, and closed his eyes. "My mother had a very promising future—she was very highly ranked in her class in Hogwarts and was an up-and-comer in the Ministry. My grandfather went to Lucius Malfoy, who was never very fond of his son's lifestyle. They ganged together and forced my parents to get married," Scorpius seethed.

"Scorpius," Rose began, but stopped when she received and irritated glare from him. She looked down at the ground as he continued.

"My father hated being attached to anyone for too long, and then he had to be married to a women he hardly knew. He resented his wife from the moment she became so," he bristled as he began pacing again. "He never physically abused my mother, but he was so mean to her that she began to believe everything nasty thing he said—that she was ugly, wasn't talented, a good-for-nothing witch. Her confidence in herself disappeared with every day that they were married. And then I was born. And believe me, he's never missed an opportunity to tell me how much my existence has ruined his life."

Rose felt her heart breaking as she watched him pace and run his hands through his hair.

"My father didn't want to come find me because he didn't want me to come back, Rose. He'd be perfectly content childless. Then he could dump my poor grieving mother and go back to his life of being a man whore," Scorpius laughed maliciously. "I'm sure the night I was gone was the happiest night of his married life."

"Scorpius, stop," Rose hissed.

"Stop what, Rose?" he stopped pacing and stared at her. "Stop telling you the truth? This is my life! This is what I have to deal with when I go home! This is why I have been home a total of fifteen months in the past six years, and it wouldn't have been that much if I could have stayed somewhere else in the summers!" Scorpius stopped yelling and took several deep breaths. "Everyone that I've ever loved has either hated or resented me. And I won't let that happen again." He finished his rant and looked down at Rose. "This is why I can't be with you, Rose. I want everything to go back to the way it was, just like you said we could. I want us to be friends and laugh together and do homework together and all those things we did before today."

Scorpius looked at Rose with pleading eyes. She had always wondered why he was so sad, but nothing could prepare her for the caliber of anguish he felt every day. She knew that he needed things to go back so he could have a semblance of normalcy in his life.

But if she said things could go back to normal, she would be lying, and she wasn't going to do that to him.

"I can't go back," she whispered, tears in her eyes.

Rose looked at Scorpius. He was staring at her, his lips pursed and his eyes wide. He took several deep breaths and balled and released his fists. Then, without a word, he began to walk towards the stairs leading out of the Astronomy tower.

"No," Rose rasped. Tears flooded her eyes as she watched him walk away. Visions of the first five years of schooling and the past two days popped in her head. The silence between them during those times was unbearable. She was _not_ going to lose him again! She jumped to her feet and as fast as she could ran to Scorpius and wrapped her arms around him, her chest to his back.

Scorpius stopped walking as soon as she made contact and Rose could feel his entire body tense up. He was taking short deep breaths, attempting to calm himself.

After a few minutes of nearness and silence, Scorpius breathed, "I don't want to be hated by you."

"I could never hate you, Scorpius," Rose spoke softly into his back.

"You don't know that," Scorpius hissed as he walked out of Rose's grasp and turned to look at her. "You don't know what our futures hold. You mean too much to me, Rose. I won't get hurt by someone else I care about."

"I won't hurt you," Rose began.

"You can't promise me that!" he suddenly yelled. He opened and closed his mouth several times, only unintelligible sounds escaping. She could tell he wanted to holler, to scream at her, to let out his frustration, but instead he just shook his head and turned around to walk away again.

He was walking out of her life.

Rose thought frantically. She needed to stop him. She needed to reassure him…

"I'll always come and find you!" she yelled to his retreating back. Scorpius stopped abruptly and froze. Rose walked around him so she could block the doorway. When she turned to look at him, she saw that his eyes were closed tightly, his jaw was clenched, and his breathing very uneven. Rose took a few steps closer and continued with a shaky voice. "You're right; I can't promise that I won't hurt you. But no matter how bad of a fight we get in, or how angry we are with each other, and no matter the distance, I will always come and find you. That, I can promise you."

Scorpius let out a puff of air and Rose saw a single tear slide down his face. She became short of breath and felt her heart swell because of the beautiful man that was standing in front of her. She immediately stepped forward, wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him as tightly as she could. She lost her breath completely when a few seconds later she felt his arms wrap around her as well. She leaned her head against his shoulder and he laid his on top of hers. They stood like this for what seemed like an endless amount of time, Rose squeezing while Scorpius tried to regulate his uneven breathing.

Scorpius finally took a deep breath when his emotions were under control. He lifted his head from hers, and she looked up to see him smiling. She smiled back as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Thank you," he whispered, his eyes closed.

Rose lifted her hand and ran it along his smooth cheek. "The pleasure is entirely-" She was cut short by his lips falling onto hers.

Rose's eyes widened in shocked, and then slowly closed. She felt pure and complete bliss. It was like lightning was striking her mouth as they moved their lips together. Rose grabbed a fistful of Scorpius' robes and pulled him as close as she could. She felt him wrap his hands around her waist and kissed her more deeply.

Rose broke the kiss when she felt like she was going to faint from lack of oxygen. She kept her eyes closed and took quick breaths. She felt Scorpius' forehead against hers again, his breath reaching her lips each time he exhaled.

"Thank _you_," she gasped.

Scorpius laughed, "Your gratitude is unnecessary, but welcome."

Rose smiled and laughed with him before kissing him and feeling bliss once again.


	10. Epilogue

Epilogue

"I don't understand why I'm sitting on the floor," Albus grumbled.

They were sitting in a compartment in the Hogwarts Express, heading back to King's Cross Station after their sixth year of schooling. In the room were Cici and Chessie sitting in one seat, their magazines and random parchments strewn around. Rose was in the other seat with Scorpius, who was spread out across the bench, his head lying in Rose's lap, eyes closed.

"Because I'm sleeping," Scorpius said without a hint of tiredness in his voice. Rose ran her hand through his hair and laughed as she saw Scorpius smile.

Albus crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of the compartment. "I don't have to be here, you know. I could just as easily go and sit with my own friends—where I'll actually have a seat!"

Rose gasped. "And break a tradition that's older than us?" She clutched her heart with her hands. "Since before we were born, Weasleys and Potters have been riding to and from Hogwarts together, and you're just going to throw that away because you have to sit on the ground? Albus, I am ashamed and appalled! I can't tell you how disappointed our parents will-"

"Stop!" Albus yelled. "There's no need to be so melodramatic! I'll stay!" He sighed dramatically and settled in more comfortably on the floor. "Besides, it's not like we're all together right now as it is. Hugo and Lily aren't in here."

"Al, you know that Hugo can't be within ten feet of Chessie without drooling. He's just saving himself from embarrassment. You can't fault him that." Rose looked at Chessie then, who was smirking into her magazine. She knew Rose's brother had a crush on her, and while she never outwardly acknowledged or ridiculed him for it, she thought it was kind of funny.

Albus grumbled once more, but didn't complain again. Rose smiled, satisfied. She could feel Scorpius shaking with laughter. When she looked down, she saw him wink before closing his eyes again.

Rose and Scorpius had been dating for three months now, and Rose couldn't be happier. There were times when Scorpius would become isolated and be lost in his head with what she could only assume were thoughts of his past. During those times she would kiss him on his forehead and sit next to him, ready to listen when he was ready to talk. Rose knew that Scorpius was grateful that he finally had someone who would listen, and she loved that she could help him.

As the train continued along its path, Rose listened to her two best friends' gossip, her cousin grumble, and Scorpius' even breathing. She knew without a moment of hesitation that she was completely content with life.

* * *

Rose and Scorpius stood alongside the large scarlet steam engine while Rose's friends went to greet their parents. She watched as Hugo walked to their parents and hugged their mom, while their dad searched around for his daughter.

"Hmm, typical," Scorpius muttered. Rose looked at him and saw him glancing at a small house-elf. "The usual chaperone home," he mumbled, shaking his head.

"You're coming home with me," Rose stated quickly, grabbing his hand as she began to drag him to her family.

Scorpius laughed, unmoving, and dragged Rose back to him. "I don't think your dad would take too kindly to the idea."

Rose took a quick look at her father, who had finally spotted her. She saw his eyes darting back and forth between her and Scorpius, his face getting redder and redder the longer she stood with him. Her mother was standing behind him, a mixed look of amusement and trepidation on her face.

Rose brought her attention back to Scorpius. "He'll get over it," she stated and tried to drag him over to her family again.

Scorpius squeezed her hand, but once again didn't move. Rose went to stand in front of him, and he took her other hand. He smiled at her, some sadness shining through his eyes. "I won't cause a rift between you and your family."

Rose sighed, knowing that he was right. Bringing a Malfoy to a Weasley's home without warning might cause the Earth to stop rotating.

She straightened her shoulders and looked him resolutely in the eye. "Fine, I'll get my family used to the idea and then you'll coming over at some point this summer, sooner rather than later."

"Bossy, aren't you?" Scorpius smirked.

Rose grinned at him before she looked at her family again. Her dad seemed to be in a heated discussion with her mom with lots of gesticulating and pointing at Rose and Scorpius.

She glanced back at Scorpius, who was looking at the ground and squeezing both of her hands tightly.

"I'll do my best to come over, Rose, but I'm sure my father won't be pleased with the idea of my dating a Weasley. If I can't come-"

"—then I'll come find you," Rose interrupted softly. She released one of his hands and placed it under his chin, lifting it up so his eyes met her. "I'll always come find you."

Scorpius smiled brightly before leaning over and kissing her on her cheek. Rose sighed happily after he pulled away. "Well, goodbye."

"See you soon," Rose said pointedly, squeezing his hand before letting go.

Scorpius grabbed his trunk and gave her one last smile. "See you soon." He then turned and walked towards the house elf that was waiting for him. When he reached it, he placed a hand on the elf's head before the elf turned in place and they both disappeared.

Rose exhaled slowly, keeping her emotions in check, before she turned to her family. She saw her father being held back by her mother as he tried to run over to her, his face red and angry. If it were at all possible, she knew that steam would be pouring out of his ears.

She chuckled to herself as she slowly began to walk over to them. Just as she had wished, her life at Hogwarts was every bit the adventure she had been hoping for.

_fin_

**A/N: And there you have it. Thank you all for the lovely reviews. I hope you enjoyed! **

**Also thank you to my betareader, snowyowl7, for helping me to make this story readable! **


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